Reports have it that no fewer than 39 Catholic priests were killed by gunmen in 2022, while 30 others were abducted from various points in Nigeria. A report by SB Morgen Intelligence, SBM, a research organisation that compiles and analyses data about happenings in the country while disclosing this, recently, said 145 attacks on Catholic priests were recorded in the year 2022. According to the report, the North-Central part of the country was the worst hit with 12 killings, while the northwest recorded nine deaths. It further reported that the south-east and south-south recorded five deaths each, while the north-east and north-west had four deaths each. The report alleged that 28 of the attacks were perpetuated by kidnappers, three by herdsmen, two by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, two by Boko Haram, and one each by bandits and mob violence.
It stated that in June 2022, Christopher Onotu, a Catholic priest, in Obangede, Okehi LGA of Kogi State was abducted by gunmen, who reportedly broke into the priest’s rectory on a Saturday night before whisking him away, leaving the congregation to know about the priest’s abduction on Sunday morning when they went for Mass. It further reported the abduction of a priest, identified as “Father Kunat” in Kaduna metropolis in November 2022, following an invasion of his residence, while a month later, gunmen abducted Fr. Mark Ojotu of Otukpo Diocese in Benue State. According to SBM, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, reacting to the kidnap and killings of the priests, expressed concern over the spate of attacks on Christian clerics in the country as the religious body described the country as a “killing field” and called on its members to adopt self-defence against future attacks. The SBM report described 2022 as an awful year for the clergy, as it stated that Catholic priests suffered more, as they were subjected to near-daily abductions with ransom demands, set at an average of N50 million per priest. The report read in part: “Although there were quite genuine fears that these abductions were targeted persecution of the Christian faith, the financial imperative in a holy abduction has somewhat eclipsed such concerns.” It also noted that aside from the killings of Catholic priests in 2022, the development has continued in the new year, 2023, as bandits reportedly set on fire the house of Rev. Fr. Isaac Achi, a priest of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin-Koro, Paikoro LGA of Niger state who died in the inferno.
